Never Say Never

DVDActive reports...

...In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie and, as bonus material, the theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983. This release will only be available for a limited time: from September 12th to December 31st. The International release will follow on or about the same day. Each original theatrical version will feature Dolby 2.0 Surround sound, close-captioning, and subtitles in English, French and Spanish for their U.S. release. International sound and subtitling vary by territory.

Bull-Loney!

I remember Lucasfilm stating that they were never going to release the original versions of the classic trilogy on DVD...What happened to preserving your "true artistic vision"? The truth is, I think that George Lucas had every intention of releasing the films in their original form, only waiting for demand to reach a fever pitch -- making it appear as though he was bowing in to public pressure.

Lucas is nothing, if not a savvy business man, knowing timing is everything. All six movies have been out for some time now... Limiting the window of sale, not only increases the collectability of this product, but it also forces someone like me to give him more money for something that should have been available long ago.

And as my friend Matt so keenly asked in an E-mail:

"Why release them individually? Why not in a box set with all 6?"

The answer is simple...

Because that six film set is part of the next phase in the plan and besides that makes too much sense

Lucas is one shrewd little tycoon...

Is it possible to be both mad and glad at the same time?